CD players are back ?

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

15 minutes ago, MetalNuts said:

Although CD Players never left, I only use it to rip a CD instead of playing the data directly from the CD.

 

Should we say CD Players are back-wards?

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

12 minutes ago, Teresa said:

 

I still do this, however I'm usually putting an SACD in my Yamaha Blu-ray / SACD universal player.

 

I actually prefer physical formats, especially the fact that I can sell or trade-in discs I don't like or no longer like. With computer music files my only choice is to delete them at a 100% loss. This is why I hope universal players continue to be available for a very long time, at least until I die.

 

My computer music files (mostly DSD and 24-bit PCM) are for music I can't get in high resolution physical formats. Also I don't play computer music files when I'm on the internet, as they tend to skip when loading a page on the internet. Right now I am playing Tango, a Telarc SACD.

 

 

 I added (has) to the above, since new CDs and SACDs continue to be released.

 

Sometimes the music download comes with a PDF of the booklet included with the physical disc. However, too often one only gets an image of the cover with no notes whatsoever, I consider this a rip-off.

 

In addition, there is sometimes information on the back (bottom) inlay card that is not in the booklet such as the resolution of the master and other details of the recording.

 

Hi Teresa,

I remember the days when part of my audiophile hobby was the actual process of collecting vinyl and subsequently CD's. I spent a lot of time searching for 'that wonderful next disc'. I would also trade and swap CD's. It was fantastic to see the collectables like 'trophies' on the shelves and best of all, there is something very tactile and engaging about spinning a disc.

 

Digital files are far less sexy, well virtually devoid of romance really. There is however some compensation on the geekiness factor. What really blows me away tho is the cataloguing and search ability not to mention the endless playlist ability to make "mixed tapes" OR listen to whole albums or artist, genre whatever, so effortlessly.

 

I cannot bear to part with my Levinson transport/DAC from the nineties. They look like a form of retro industrial art each nearly too heavy to lift. So if CD is back I figure I'll score some points for vintage gear.

 

I hope that you get your wish, "universal players continue to be available for a very long time, at least until I die." Mostly I hope its for a very long time and with your longevity to match.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

6 hours ago, sandyk said:

6 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

are you from Ostrichalia??

 

 Your remarks like this are tiresome and show just how petty a person you really are.

IIRC, diecaster has far more knowledge in the digital area than you ever will.

 

 

Insults and snide remarks based on nationality are usually a sign that the person has lost the debate and /or the plot 😏

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

4 hours ago, Miska said:

Ahh, the PS-Audio one?

 

Yes.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ps-audio-directstream-memory-player-universal-transport

 

 

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

 

On 1/6/2019 at 8:24 PM, ajay556 said:

CD transports/player are making a come back? Kalista, CEC, hegel cd players have the lowest jitter noise ratio ever seen in digital playback system.  

Since this is a Audiophilestyle forum  now - other sources are not taboo anymore. Keep in mind computer was never designed to play high-end audio - Till today it's more of a convenience - dollar to dollar vinyl and CD player have better sound quality. Just take a peak in japan, France, Korea etc...they are hard core audiophiles and they are still buying CD players and of course turntables.

 

 

7 hours ago, ajay556 said:

This is my point from the review...thats it

In an era of streaming network-attached digital music sources you might think the time for listening to music as played from spinning silver discs is past, but that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, if you have read between the lines of commentary from many of our reviewers you might have noticed a quiet trend; namely, a softly spoken preference for the sound quality of music played from discs as compared to the sound of the same music played from network-connected players or servers. It’s hard to say what accounts for this preference, but one explanation may be that top-shelf disc players are able to harvest audio data from discs with very few read errors (and thus minimal intrusion from error detection and correction algorithms) and can likewise present that data in as jitter-free a manner as possible. If that’s the case, then high-quality disc players may still enjoy a worthwhile performance edge vis-à-vis typical streaming solutions, meaning our prized disc collections might in turn have a new lease on life

 

One should ask at this point is there any data on CD player sales or other indicators that reflect an increase prevalence of CD players? Like vinyl I don't think they have ever been gone.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

1 hour ago, sandyk said:

Looks like I may have grabbed the wrong review . I will need to check what model it was with my friend .

This was some years ago, and the only thing I remember was him removing the disc and it continuing to play, and someone else present wanting to buy it from him.

Perhaps Audiophile Neuroscience can remember more about it ?

 

 

38 minutes ago, sandyk said:

P.S.

It could very well have been a Transport and a DAC , as back them I had only recently had spinal surgery and was unable to get up close and personal with the gear being used.

 

IIRC it was just the transport which we heard playing into a non PS Audio DAC. The consensus was it was no better than my standard laptop. Dave did some mods ( no idea what) and in a second meeting all of us (5 or 6) felt it was better than my laptop transport. Dennis subsequently had it on long term 'loan'  and Dave agreed to sell it to him but it never happened.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

5 minutes ago, Allan F said:

Enjoy your separate reality.

 

There's a lot of that going around. I know for sure you and I have it right  😀

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

5 minutes ago, sandyk said:

23 minutes ago, The_K-Man said:

A different source, and/or different mastering, was likely used for the AAC or high res files.

 Where do you think the original source files for most CDs were obtained from ?

 

There is little doubt that some of the differences are due to different masterings but I agree, not all. There are comparison files available specifically comparing formats of the same recording/mastering.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

4 minutes ago, The_K-Man said:

 

Disagree with what I'm saying all you want, but what I'm saying is true.

 

There's a winning argument.

 

4 minutes ago, The_K-Man said:

Different masterings make at least ten times the audible difference that different digital formats(Red Book, Wav vs High Res vs lossy MP3) make, unless one has coveted 'Golden Ears'.

 

I agree that the quality of the recording and mastering trumps format. Some Redbook CD in flac sound stunning to my "Golden Ears"

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

On 1/11/2019 at 10:23 AM, sandyk said:

 I haven't been able to find out yet which DAC was used in conjunction with the PWT originally though.

 

It was likely the Bricasti M1. Dennis eventually changed to  Rockna DAC (bad move IMO). Dave kept his PWT and bought my Bricasti (which he modified) when I changed to Kalliope.